Who Is Tomás Satoranský?

In the 2012 draft, the Wizards had the 32nd pick – a great opportunity to acquire a player who can immediately contribute. And on a team that had the 2nd worst record in the league the year before, the Wizards definitely needed more people to contribute. With Jae Crowder, Draymond Green, and Quincy Miller on the board, the Wizards had some quality players to choose from. To the surprise of many, they chose Tomáš Satoranský. Who? Yea, don’t worry, not many people in the States had ever heard of him either. Prior to the draft, the Wizards had worked out the Czech Republic point guard, but few people expected him to be picked as early as he did. For a bit more insight on Satoranský’s playing abilities, I’ve decided to break down his strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths

Physical Attributes – Sato is 6’7” and his wingspan is 6’7.25”, which is, needless to say, absolutely HUGE for a point guard. When he enters the NBA, he will be one of the tallest point guards in the league. His size will undoubtedly create problems for opposing point guards offensively; his length will give him an advantage on the defensive end, where he will be guarding guys who will usually be between 5’10” and 6’4” 1.

Experience–Sato has been playing professional basketball since 2006. Up until 2009, he played in a Czech league; after that, he transitioned to the ACB, one of the most competitive leagues in Spain. As the adage goes, with experience, comes improvement. In his past two seasons playing in the ACB, Sato has improved his FG% from 43.5% to 46.2%, his 3PT% from 28.3% to 33.3%, his FT% from 69.8% to 78.3%, and his upped his scoring and assist numbers per 36 minutes. Last year, he lead his team in points, steals, and assists, was second in rebounds, and third in blocks. 2. Sato’s hard work hasn’t gone unrecognized; in the past season, he finished third in ACB’s Most Spectacular Player award voting.

He also has the ability to conjure lightning, which will be… helpful…

Weaknesses

Assist to Turnover Ratio – Although Sato has improved his turnover to assist ratio during his time in the Spanish league, it still isn’t ideal for a point guard. In 33 games on his Spanish team, he averaged 3.2 turnovers to 4.2 assists in 29 minutes 3. That equates to an AST/TO of 1.31, which would have ranked 43rd among point guards in the NBA who played more than 25 minutes last year 4. While Sato is currently playing in one of the best leagues in Spain, the NBA is on a whole new level, so he will need to cut down on the turnovers if he wants to make it in the league.

Jump Shot – Ah, a Wizards point guard who needs to work on his jump shot. Sound familiar? Even with all of the improvement he has shown in the past year, Satoranský’s jump shot still needs work. He has poor mechanics, so he will need to fix his shot if wants to become a consistent jump shooter 5.

Let’s compare him!

Oh, comparisons, what I love doing the most. Since he’s a European point guard playing in the Spanish league, it only makes sense to compare Tomáš Satoranský to another European point guard who played in a Spanish league: Ricky Rubio.

Per 36 minutes, Sato averaged 14.74 points, 5.46 assists, 4.15 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and 4.15 TO. In Rubio’s last season in the Euro league 6, his Per 36 averages were 10.4 points, 5.6 assists, 5.12 rebounds, 2.56 steals, and 2.88 TO 7. Satoranský also shot 7% better than Rubio from the field and 11% better from three-point range. To better visualize this comparison, check out the table below:

PP36M

AP36M

RP36M

SP36M

TOP36M

AST:TO

Satoranský

14.74

5.46

4.15

1.40

4.15

1.3:1

Rubio

10.4

5.60

5.12

2.56

2.88

2:1

From these statistics, we can conclude that Satoranský is a slightly more polished scorer, with higher points and field goal percentage. However, that is the only facet of the game where he has Rubio beat. Rubio’s AST/TO ratio is way better than Sato’s 8, which isn’t surprising, because Rubio is more known for his passing. Rubio also has him beat on defense, where he averages over 1 more steal per 36. The most surprising statistic is in both players’ rebounding numbers. Sato has 3 inches on Rubio, but Rubio averaged about one more rebound a game per 36 than Sato did. It’s not too worrisome, but you would think that Sato’s rebounding numbers would be higher than that.

Tomáš Satoranský has at least one more year overseas before the Wizards bring him over. If he keeps developing like he has been doing for the past couple years, he has a chance to make an impact on the Wizards, which would bring size and athleticism to the backup point guard role. He also would be a great option next to Bradley Beal, who is a bit undersized for a shooting guard. However, until he can fix his shooting, his role on the team will be very limited. Sato is a bit of a mystery, and frankly, and only time will tell what kind of player he will become.